PC Alpha 20 Dev Diary

[Beelzebubs Ghost]

@madmole

It sounds like the electrical system isn't getting any updates/love. Is that for this update or 'ever' ? I'm a nerd, I like engineering stuff. The electrical system is super enticing but sort of... I don't want to sound insulting, but it almost feels half baked. Is there a chance we'll see more on that system in the future to flesh it out a bit more and correct some of the odd/counterintuitive behaviors? 

Doesn't almost feel. It is.

Don't worry about upsetting people on here, speak your mind. If they have any maturity they will address your concern.

I feel that, and I know food spoilage has been discussed before but with so much potential for electricity and devices it really should be fleshed out more.

Static base defences wired up to banks with solar are fine for perpetual power, but there could even be electrical vehicles introduced, or an overhaul of vehicles or other cool stuff put in involving the use of batteries that need recharging. One cool trap for moat like defences could be a block wired to batteries with dangling wires to electrify the water.

I dont know if you or others on here have seen that creepy forest like game made I think by a single developer. In that game cars can be fixed up as you find them provided you gather parts like the battery and fuel.

7 days is a bit stupid in that you can't recover any of the sedans which would be amazing if you could, yet kill a few zombies and suddenly you have the knowledge and metalworking skills to build a whole 4x4. Wtf?

I don't know what else you could do with batteries but I'm sure the community could provide some extra ideas, as well as yourself.

 

[Matt115]

7 Days to Drown

Yeah! i'm afraid of water even in games - subnautica with cthulu mod is so creepy. No matter how good would be this game nothing could convice me to play this XD 

I notice all but 1 has a broken leg. I guess it was easier to just lay down and accept a slow death by starvation and the elements than it was trying to run with that broken leg  debuff.

Yep that's why legs are the most important parts of body

 

[meganoth]

Yeah! i'm afraid of water even in games - subnautica with cthulu mod is so creepy. No matter how good would be this game nothing could convice me to play this XD 

Yep that's why legs are the most important parts of body

Exactly. Who needs a brain anyway?

 

[dcsobral]

Are you sure you weren't hit by the cop's vomit splash damage?

I think they may not be direct hits...

Oh, I'm quite sure. It was going right through the block as if it wasn't even there. See second spit from this timestamp, as it goes right through the concrete.

 

[meganoth]

1 hour ago, dcsobral said:

Oh, I'm quite sure. It was going right through the block as if it wasn't even there. See second spit from this timestamp, as it goes right through the concrete.

What sort of arrow-slits were you using? The ones you are using there seem to be different than the ones I know from A19

 

[Jost Amman]

What sort of arrow-slits were you using? The ones you are using there seem to be different than the ones I know from A19

Yeah, those are some new A20 arrow slits which are split into 4.

1 hour ago, dcsobral said:

Oh, I'm quite sure. It was going right through the block as if it wasn't even there. See second spit from this timestamp, as it goes right through the concrete.

It still doesn't convince me that it's going through...  :confused2:

 

[dcsobral]

Yeah, those are some new A20 arrow slits which are split into 4.

It still doesn't convince me that it's going through...  :confused2:

The one at 4:05:00/4:05.01 is clearly passing through the concrete. Edit: here's the screenshot:

 

[dcsobral]

What sort of arrow-slits were you using? The ones you are using there seem to be different than the ones I know from A19

All sorts of slits, actually. Alpha 20 has full sized arrow slots, 1/2 block sized arrow slits and 1/4 block sized arrow slits. The 1/2 block sized arrow slits have four variants: straight (traditional), corner, T junction and cross junction. I'm using the 1/2 block sized arrow slits, and I think on this horde night I have all variants except the straight. 

 

[JCrook1028]

this year a new game will come out called The Day Before. w/e pvp players are left i'm sure will be playing that instead when it releases.

Lovely, less griping to wade thru for the rest of us about a game that is NOT designed as a PvP game. If you can't get that simple truth thru your head then either suffer with it or go elsewhere.

All sorts of slits, actually. Alpha 20 has full sized arrow slots, 1/2 block sized arrow slits and 1/4 block sized arrow slits. The 1/2 block sized arrow slits have four variants: straight (traditional), corner, T junction and cross junction. I'm using the 1/2 block sized arrow slits, and I think on this horde night I have all variants except the straight. 

If you can look at that footage and honestly say that any of those blocks should stop acid then you're just blind. Stop looking for "cheat" blocks. That's the silliest looking thing I've seen in a very long time.

 

[dcsobral]

If you can look at that footage and honestly say that any of those blocks should stop acid then you're just blind. Stop looking for "cheat" blocks. That's the silliest looking thing I've seen in a very long time.

If you look at that footage and think they should act as bars you are blind. Stop making excuses for clearly broken mechanics.

I'm happening to use arrow slits as intended. As something that is easy to shoot from inside, and difficult to target from outside. Here's the wikipedia article if you happen not to be familiar with it. Up to alpha 19 you had two main options for protection with LoS: bars and slits. Bars let you see everything and shoot at everything, but allowed cops to spit at you (since alpha 16). Slits obscured most of your vision and don't let you track enemies but cops would not see you behind them, and puke would not go through them. Alpha 20 offers the cube frame as a third option, working pretty much like bars. On alpha 20.2, however, all advantages of slits are eliminated: cops see through them, and puke goes through them -- and not just through the slits, but through the solid parts of it as well. But the disadvantages are still there: it severely limits visibility and it's impossible to track an enemy. They act just like bars, but worse.

Now try to convince me that those slits should be as vulnerable as bars, offering no protection whatsoever.

 

[jorbascrumps]

If you look at that footage and think they should act as bars you are blind. Stop making excuses for clearly broken mechanics.

There are some pretty wide gaps in that block, I'd expect projectiles to go through.

 

[dcsobral]

There are some pretty wide gaps in that block, I'd expect projectiles to go through.

I'm mostly fine with projectiles going through if they hit the gap. I'm not fine with this:

I might also add that the gaps look big because I'm right next to them. They are, however, smaller than a pole. Edit: in fact, I cannot melee through the gaps, and I cannot shoot rockets through the gaps. So it's a "smaller than a spear or knife" gap.

 

[jorbascrumps]

I'm mostly fine with projectiles going through if they hit the gap. I'm not fine with this:



I might also add that the gaps look big because I'm right next to them. They are, however, smaller than a pole.

I see what you mean - logically and visually it makes sense for them to block projectiles - however, from a gameplay perspective I'm ok with their current behaviour because they need to be balanced somehow. How easy would it be to sit behind that block and shoot effortlessly between the spaces while the AI only has a very small chance to hit you back?

 

[dcsobral]

I see what you mean - logically and visually it makes sense for them to block projectiles - however, from a gameplay perspective I'm ok with their current behaviour because they need to be balanced somehow. How easy would it be to sit behind that block and shoot effortlessly between the spaces while the AI only has a very small chance to hit you back?

That's what an arrow slit is. Like, it's a real world thing and that's exactly how it works. If you call it an arrow slit, that's what it is supposed to do. But let's talk about balanced: how is it balanced that something that obscures most of your line of sight provides the exact same amount of protection as bars? (that is, none)

 

[jorbascrumps]

That's what an arrow slit is. Like, it's a real world thing and that's exactly how it works. If you call it an arrow slit, that's what it is supposed to do. But let's talk about balanced: how is it balanced that something that obscures most of your line of sight provides the exact same amount of protection as bars? (that is, none)

Watching your video, your vision doesn't seem all that impaired imo. That isn't to say it isn't at all but it's still fairly easy to follow the action on screen and hit your targets. Game balance doesn't necessitate following the rules of how an object behaves in the real world. Would it be nice if game logic and the real world were consistent? Sure it would. But there is a need to balance game mechanics so that players don't just flock to an instant win solution.

If we're going to discuss realism, that block is more of an "impossible block" that shouldn't even exist in the game anyway as it appears to be floating.

 

[dcsobral]

Watching your video, your vision doesn't seem all that impaired imo. That isn't to say it isn't at all but it's still fairly easy to follow the action on screen and hit your targets. Game balance doesn't necessitate following the rules of how an object behaves in the real world. Would it be nice if game logic and the real world were consistent? Sure it would. But there is a need to balance game mechanics so that players don't just flock to an instant win solution.

If we're going to discuss realism, that block is more of an "impossible block" that shouldn't even exist in the game anyway as it appears to be floating.

I have to keep moving side to side while at the same time rotating to keep track of any zombie. That's hard. If they were bars, I could just track the zombie without moving at all. It is not fairly easy to do it, and if you think it is I suggest you try.

As for the "impossible block", let's be clear that this is not something exclusive to the T, L and + shapes of arrow slits, it's something that happens on ALL arrow slits. If that wall was made exclusively of alpha 19 arrow slits, the puke would still go through it.

And I never said anything about realism. I'm talking about expectations: an arrow slit is something that is easier to shoot from close up, inside, than it is from far away, outside. It is not unreasonable to expect an arrow slit to work like that, it is unreasonable for an arrow slit to not work like that. And let's not forget: THEY ARE WORKING LIKE BARS. If you want to defend the current behavior, you have to justify arrow slits being having the exact same behavior as bars.

 

[Roland]

Had they spent just a little effort on pvp it would be a very viable game option today.

It wasn't their priority. They chose to put all their focus on single player and multiplayer cooperative.

not addressing nor understanding the opportunity they had for this game on the pvp side.

They addressed it multiple times and it has been repeated hundreds of times . You just didn't like what was said and so rejected it-- apparently from you consciousness. They also very much understand the opportunity and the money potential of doing a PvP focused game. Props to them for sticking to their vision and resisting the lure of big easy money. We call that "not selling out". Remember how Sony sold out with their H1Z1 zombie apocalypse game that began as a very similar style game to 7 Days to Die but in a static non-voxel world? They abandoned that game and jumped on the Battle Royale hype train instead-- following the money. No....these devs have a solid view and understanding of the gaming market and they know the opportunity that PvP focused development is and they chose single player and cooperative small group play instead and have stuck to that.

Later this year a new game will come out called The Day Before. w/e pvp players are left i'm sure will be playing that instead when it releases. Maybe than the pimps will realize what opportunities they had and wasted by not focusing on pvp just a little bit more.

Maybe you will come to realize that this is not a subscription based game so...

In all honesty, good luck to you. I hope the PvP-centric games of 2022 and 2023 will be a ton of fun for you. In 2022 and 2023, 7 Days to Die will continue to be one of the most fulfilling small group cooperative games on the market as well as a top single player experience. 

 

[Matt115]

Exactly. Who needs a brain anyway?

Lose leg- you will complain for years! 

lose leg- you will never complain XDDDD

It wasn't their priority. They chose to put all their focus on single player and multiplayer cooperative.

They addressed it multiple times and it has been repeated hundreds of times . You just didn't like what was said and so rejected it-- apparently from you consciousness. They also very much understand the opportunity and the money potential of doing a PvP focused game. Props to them for sticking to their vision and resisting the lure of big easy money. We call that "not selling out". Remember how Sony sold out with their H1Z1 zombie apocalypse game that began as a very similar style game to 7 Days to Die but in a static non-voxel world? They abandoned that game and jumped on the Battle Royale hype train instead-- following the money. No....these devs have a solid view and understanding of the gaming market and they know the opportunity that PvP focused development is and they chose single player and cooperative small group play instead and have stuck to that.

Maybe you will come to realize that this is not a subscription based game so...

In all honesty, good luck to you. I hope the PvP-centric games of 2022 and 2023 will be a ton of fun for you. In 2022 and 2023, 7 Days to Die will continue to be one of the most fulfilling small group cooperative games on the market as well as a top single player experience. 

I totaly agree with you. 

Btw it shame that the scrapped days gone 2. Days gone was solid zombie game in my opinion.

Btw XD the funniest thing : most PVPVZ games are dead now and 7dtd is still alive so another point goint to TFP. Honestly i hate PVP game - there is a lot of reasons why they are "short lived". L4D2 in mostly COOP and is still alive

 

[dcsobral]

Oh, and regarding the "huge gap" of an arrow slit, here's a 0.05m pole in front of it:

 

[Grandpa Minion]

 Props to them for sticking to their vision and resisting the lure of big easy money. We call that "not selling out". 

I call that a "lie" in fact their whole company i is based off a "pimp" image. A matter of fact anytime someone buys 7d2d you might as well say they are turning a trick for the pimps. No where in time has a pimp not chased money a pimp is 100% about getting money one way or another. Keep telling the storys and do what you do but i well say thank your for wishing me best of luck.